


Sacrifice

by VibraniumHeart



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Protective Steve Rogers, Steve Needs a Hug, Steve Rogers Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2019-08-17 04:06:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16509080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VibraniumHeart/pseuds/VibraniumHeart
Summary: You and Steve have been dancing around each other since you met. It's your first mission as a full-fledged Avenger.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AdaraHawthorn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdaraHawthorn/gifts).



"You ready, doll?" Steve asked from the doorway of your bedroom. You tried to ignore the way your stomach flipped and your heart ticked up a beat at the nickname. You weren't sure how well the super soldier could hear, but you wouldn't be surprised if he heard it.

You flashed him a smile as you finished buckling the harness at your thigh. It wasn't your first mission, but it was your first as a full blown avenger. The missions before this one had been what the team would call "soft missions." Essentially, they were just recon missions, gathering intel, nothing exactly dangerous.

But this one could be anything. "I'm ready, Captain. Are you?" His cheeks tinged a light pink as he ducked his head. "Yeah, I'm ready." He hesitated slightly in the doorway before pushing off. "Can I...uhm...escort you to the jet?"

Again your stomach flipped at his charm and gentlemanly nature. He really was one of a kind, a relic from another life. From another time.

"Of course." Flirting with Steve wasn't new to you. He often escorted you to dinner or walked with you on group outings. Occasionally he would toss you a wink and he almost always called you doll. But it had never gone farther than that, much to your disappointment.

You went your separate ways on the jet, so you missed the kissy faces Bucky made at him before being elbowed hard in the ribs.

The ride in the jet seemed to take no time at all before you were stealth dropping outside of the compound you were meant to clear. The details, even for the briefing, had been hazy at best. You had blueprints of the building and little more than strong suspicion as to what they were up to.

It didn't amount to much, but Tony and Steve had both been in agreement that it warranted a check. At best the merry band of heroes, you included, would find that the suspicion and little evidence of nefarious deeds was unfounded.

At worst....well, it was hard to say. You tried desperately to clamp down on the anxiety that rolled in your gut and made your palms slick. You had been trained for this. But splitting up hardly seemed the best idea inside the compound, even if it was the fastest way to clear it. Steve flashed you an encouraging smile before you all parted ways inside.

The inside was all metal and cement, and dank. Almost as if it should have been underground. Water dripped from the walls and even the lights seemed to flicker in protest.

For the most part it seemed rather abandoned. Over the communications device firmly lodged in your ear, however, you knew that wasn't the case.

Tony, Steve and Bucky had all found small handfuls of scientists or soldiers and had them quickly detained. You knew better than to drop your guard, especially as the hallway you were walking through began to slope steadily downward, getting darker, it seemed, with every step.

"This hall is really long. No sign of movement yet....but I think it leads underground."

"Affirmative. Stay alert, doll. I'm on my way." Steve reassured.

"Me, too. That wasn't on the blueprints." Tony's voice crackled with static as you walked further, a distinct chill running over you.

There was no way to ignore the smell as you walked farther; damp and cold, earthy, but something else distinctly foul you couldn't put a name to. It prickled at the back of your neck, made bile rise up your throat. Whatever it was, you were sure it wouldn't be pleasant.

There was a dim light at the end and on either side were two wrought iron cages, like prison cells. At first glance you might have missed them in the dim glow. At least a dozen children split between the two cages, huddled in the corners and against each other.

The youngest of them looked to be three or four, with the oldest about eleven. Their eyes were sunken in and tear filled, dirt and bruises covering their small frames. Their hair was tangled and matted in different shades of color, bile rising sharply up your throat again.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. I'm one of the good guys. I'm gonna get you out of here." You promised, looking frantically around for a set of keys to the cells. There was none that you could see.

Footsteps echoed down the hall from the direction you'd come. "Y/N?" Steve called cautiously.

"I'm here!" You called back, relief washing over you that more help was on the way. Without super soldier strength there was no way you were going to make the cages open. "Steve there's...there's kids."

His footsteps quickened toward you until you could see the star on his chest in the dimly lit space.

Finally he was beside you, a fire burning in his blue eyes as he caught sight of the children. Tony appeared right behind him, Bucky following after. Between the three of them they got the cages open, pulling and prying the bars until there was enough space for the children to come through.

You motioned them forward. "Come on, we're gonna get you out of here and get you home." At the mention of home they started forward, coming through the openings of each cage.

Steve looked around at the kids, his eyes soft as they found yours. "Nat and Sam are waiting down the hall. We'll start carrying them out to them."

You nodded. "I'll stay here with them." He nodded before bending down to the group. "We're gonna get you out of here, okay? I'm Steve, that's Bucky and Tony."

After that it was a bit of a blur of movement, each of them picking up two or three kids a piece before starting off back down the hall.

In just a few short minutes there were only a few kids left. One was a small boy, about 5 if you had to guess. He had chocolate brown curls and big green eyes. 

As Steve's footsteps sounded down the hallway once more you caught movement out of the corner of your eyes, tucked into the shadows. A man emerged, dressed in an all black uniform.

Time seemed to slow down to a crawl. You could feel every individual thrum of your heart, water droplets from the ceiling seeming to fall in slow motion toward the ground.

Your body was already moving, shoving the little boy aside and out of his line of fire. You heard a single shot go off. Time sped up again with no time to move as the bullet whizzed through the air.

There was a sharp bite of pain in your chest and then you were falling. Time slowed again as you fell, wind rushing in your ears as a distinctive red-white and blue shield went spinning past you, a scant inch from your falling body. It struck the man in the forehead.

Time sped up again and you dropped fast, the world blurring together in an array of color. Strong arms wrapped around your middle, easing you to the floor.

Steve's blue eyes shone with tears above you, fat droplets clinging to his lashes. He blinked and they fell, rolling down his cheeks.

His mouth was moving but you couldn't make out the words, as if he were speaking to you under rushing water. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like it!

There was hard pressure against your chest, pain throbbing through your body as Steve pressed his hands to your bleeding wound.

"Stay with me, doll! Come on, that's it. Just focus on me. You're gonna be okay." His voice wavered under the threat of tears. 

"I need med evac now! Y/N is down." He barked into the comms unit. "Buck, come grab the rest of the kids."

"Already on my way, Stevie."

Black crept at the edges of your vision. Your mouth and ears felt jammed full of cotton. An icy chill bit at your spine and through your limbs. 

The last thing you remembered before succumbing to the dark was laying your hand over Steve's, letting his warmth sink into your skin.

Hours later Steve found himself in the med-bay at the compound. You were tucked into the bed at his side, face pale and eyes shut. The steady beeping of your heart monitor was the only real indication that you were still alive. Even the rise and fall of your chest seemed almost too miniscule for the human eye to detect.

His hands were still stained red with your blood, a spatter over his otherwise perfect face. It was even smeared over the white star emblazoned on his chest.

Bucky knocked softly on the door. "Hey, Stevie. Let me take over for a minute. You should clean up." He said gently. 

Steve sighed and nodded tightly. "I'll be back, sweetheart." He promised your lifeless form. He knew you were in a medically induced coma to heal, but he still hoped you heard him.

It was the longest he left your side for the next week and a half. He made sure the nurses kept him updated if there were any changes. Other than that he tended to you mostly by himself.

He changed your sheets, made sure you had enough blankets, opened the blinds every day for you to get sun and even played your favorite TV shows. And he talked, about anything and everything he could think of. 

It was quite the surprise when there was a knock at the door. On the other side was a woman with dark, curly hair and deep brown eyes. At her side was the curly haired boy from the mission.

Steve felt a sharp lodge in his throat. The woman smiled apologetically. "Charlie wanted to know if he could visit. He wanted...he wants to say thank you." She explained sweetly.

He cleared his throat and cast his eyes down to the curly haired boy. "Of course, Charlie." He motioned the boy inside. "I'll give you a minute, okay?" 

With reluctance he stepped outside into the hall but left the door open a crack. Charlie's mother smiled at him. "Thank you, Captain."

"Please, call me Steve. And no need to thank me. I'm happy Charlie is home, ma'am."

He stayed out in the hall with her, making polite chit chat as Charlie sat in the room with you. Steve wasn't sure, exactly, how much time had passed that Charlie was in there. 

When he emerged the boy looked tired, his face damp with only what he could assume were tears. He tugged Steve's shirt until he bent down to his level.

"Don't be sad, Captain. She'll wake up soon."

Steve gave him a watery smile and squeezed his shoulder. He was at a loss for words. But Charlie's mother took his hand and the two disappeared back down the hall.

Steve breathed out a sigh. "I hope you're right, Charlie." He wiped at his eyes with his sleeve before straightening his shoulders before ducking back into your room. 

\------------  
Steve jerked awake with his heart drumming hard in his chest. For a moment he was confused, tingling with the remnants of a dream that slipped through the grasp of his mind.

Unsure what, exactly, had woken him he sat in the dark for a moment. And then he felt it, the gentle squeeze of his fingers. A soft groan followed. 

The last vestiges of sleep left him in a rush, like a syringe of adrenaline straight to his heart. His eyes caught yours in the dim light of the hospital room, his gasp tearing through the silence as effectively as your groan.

Your eyes ached slightly, like a distant thrumming at the backs of them. Your muscles ached with stiffness and your mouth felt dry. As best you could you motioned for a drink. 

Steve understood instantly and was at your side in a flash with water. He put the straw gently to your lips and let you drink your fill.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you, doll, but you shouldn't be awake yet."

"Charlie." You croaked out softly. Steve furrowed his eyebrows. "How do you know his name?"

A soft smile pulled at your lips. "Dunno how to explain it.....he found me."

To Steve's slight horror you lifted your hand to the gauze covering your wound to reveal your wound. Only it wasn't the same one he had seen them patching up. Where the skin had been raw and red from the stitches there was a healed white scar in a shape that resembled a star.

Steve sank back into his chair, the wind knocked out of him. "Mutant. Didn't see that coming." He cleared his throat again and met your gaze.

"This may not be the best time....but I've been a coward. I didn't realize how much I wanted...needed you, before I nearly lost you. I want...I want to give us a real try. If you'll have me."

His cheeks tinged pink as he finished, pushing his hands nervously into his pockets. "I should go tell the nurses you're awake."

Before he could turn to leave you spoke, "I know you're not about to leave me without a kiss, Captain." He turned back around slowly, surprise lifting his brows.

"It's about time you asked me out." You added with a soft, teasing smile. Steve let out a breath of a laugh as he leaned over you. 

"Haven't you heard? I'm the king of waiting too long." His lips pressed to yours softly, his callused hand cupping your cheek. His fingers were long enough that he cradled the back of your head as well, his tongue slipping in slowly to tangle with yours.

You felt your heart kick up a beat a second before you heard it on the monitor. Steve pulled back with a soft laugh. You ducked your head in embarrassment, heat crawling up your neck.

"I'll never get tired of that sound." He rasped, revealing that he had, in fact, been able to hear it all along. The monitor just made it so you could hear it, too. 

He gave you one more chaste kiss. "I'm gonna get a nurse, sweetheart." Another uptick on the monitor. The heat spread over your cheeks and down your chest.

There was a stupid grin on his face as he stood and began to make his way out of the room. At the doorway he turned and seemed to consider something for a moment. With your eyes on his the cheeky shit winked, his laughter echoing down the hall as your monitor gave another soft jump.


End file.
